"DON'T think too much about Vietnam, let them worry about us." That's the advice from Malaysia's well-known foot pundit Shebby Singh as the national team prepare to face the Golden Dragons in a World Cup/Asian Cup qualifier in Dubai on Friday.
The former international stressed that Malaysia should let Vietnam bear the brunt of the pressure, and hit them on the counter.
Shebby, who feels that Harimau Malaya should let Vietnam bring the fight to them, said: "The pressure is on Vietnam to make the World Cup because of their progress in the last four years.
"The weight of expectations is on them. But this can allow us the opportunity to beat Vietnam."
Shebby said the Malaysian team must get over the 4-0 loss to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday, regroup and dig in for a fightback.
"Malaysia is no stranger to this feeling... as we always get smacked when the pressure is on. So, don't think too much about Vietnam and instead, let them worry about us.
"Let's keep a clean sheet, have the defenders defend, the midfield keep shape to protect the defence.
"Unleash Safawi Rasid, Luqman Hakim Shamsudin and Arif Aiman Hanapi on the counterattack against Vietnam and we won't be disappointed.
"We shouldn't be too concerned about Vietnam, their players or tactics.
"Let's play smart, let Vietnam bring the game to us and let's play a 'back to basics' game."
On Malaysia's heavy defeat against UAE, Shebby said the team had no clear tactics or strategies apart from making several mistakes.
"The midfield lost shape because Liridon Krasniqi has no sense of tactical discipline.
"We fired blanks in attack because the perceived saviour (Guilherme de Paula) of Malaysian football was a mere passenger, and he actually stayed on the pitch for 90 minutes.
"It was a pity that team selection and substitutions were made based on policies and not footballing abilities.
"There's a misconception about international football. To jump from M-League to Asian level is a big leap.
"Even the Johor Darul Ta'zim players, most of whom have played at Asian club level, do struggle physically with international football."
Yesterday, Vietnam thrashed Indonesia 4-0 while UAE outclassed Thailand 3-1 in their Group G qualifiers in Dubai.
Shebby said: "I don't think we learnt anything new about UAE or Thailand that we don't already know. The Thais are technically better than our players in all aspects.
"We have to hope we have 'one of those days' where everything goes well for us, and the opponents have a bad day.
"Once again, let's get back to basics. The keyword is clean sheet.
"Let's build a strong defensive foundation, so that the roof won't crumble on us because it seems to have become a habit."
Shebby was a key member of the Kuala Lumpur team that won the Malaysia Cup three years in a row from 1987-1989. He was also the Global Adviser for Blackburn Rovers during the 2012/2013 English League season.